Harness



(NO Mt ulelJ I W. H. JOSSELYN.

HARNESS.

Patented June 20, 1882.,

' I'NVENTORH WlTNESSESf By his Afirneys,

N. PETERS, Qmm-Lnm a w wmin m, n c. I I I UNITED STATES PATENT CFFIcE.

- WILLIAM H. JOS SELYN, CF BRIDGEPOBT, CONNECTICUT.

HARNESS.

' SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.-259,694, dated June 20, 1882,

Application filed April 17, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Beit known that I, WILLIAM H. J ossELYN, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Bridgeport, in the countyot' Fairfield and State ofConnecticu t, have invented. certain Improvements in Harness, of whichthe following is a specification. Y

My invention relates to improvements in bar ness for ready hitching, being especially adapted for harness employed with horses used for drawing fire-engines and hospital ambulances, where a. few seconds lost in hitching is a matter of importance.

The harness now most in use for tire purposes is known as Barrys. This harness is double and employs hinged snap-collars, and it is hoisted up in the engine-house on a frame with hooks, beingcounterbalan'ced by a weight. The horses are led under, the harness dropped upon their backs, and the various fastenings made by snaps. In this harness, and in all Others of this character, so far as I am aware, the horses constantly wear headstalls, to which the bits are attached. The bitis usually'allowed to swing below the chin, and in hitching the bit is placed in the mouth, and the reins, which must be properly crossed, snapped into the rings on the bit. This attachment of the reins to thebitsrequires considerabletime,especially when it is considered that the proper crossing of the reins mustbc carefully attended to. Instances have occurred where this crossing was overlooked in the hurry of hitching, and much delay caused by stopping to correct the defect. My invention is intended to obviate these defects and to greatly augment the rapidity of the hitching operation.

I employ a harness proper of the general character described-that is to say,with hinged snap-collars, and suspended; but I employ bits which are normally attached to the reins, and also suspended with the rest of the harness. When the hitching is to be effected the bits are only to be placed in the mouths of the horses and hooked to the headstall, (the work of a moment,) and the horses are ready for service. No difficulty can occur in the matter of omitting to cross the reins, as the reins are normally arranged as they should be.

The novelfeatures of the invention .wil1- be definitely set forth in the claims.

In the drawings, which serve to illustrate my invention, Figure 1 is a general view of the harness suspended as in an engine-house, and Fig. 2 shows it when the horses'a're properly hitched. I have shown only that portion of the harness proper necessary to illustrate the application of my improvements. Figs. 3 and 4. are detached views enlarged, which will be referred to hereinafter.

Letaa represent the ordinary hinged sna'p-collars, attached,forexample, to the pole b of a tire- 6 e. The bit is provided with a bail,f, which may be rigid or flexible, and of any suitable material. I prefer to employ a rigid bail made of metal. The bits are suspended with the remainder of the harness, and I prefer to suspend them as shownthat is say, to arrange pendent cords or ropes g g at about the point where the horses heads will stand in hitching, and to provide these cords with clasps, hooks, orother devices from which the bails may be readily detached. I

In Fig. 3 I have shown the preferred form of clasp or holdfast, h. This is simply an elastic clasp or pinch, which will hold the bits suspended securely, and yet permit them to be detached by a smart pull.

Referring now to Figs. 2 and 4, I will explain the hitching process. The horses are led under the suspended harness and the collars secured on them in the usual way. The bits are now pulled from the clasps h and inserted in the horses mouths in the usual way with bits. This brings the bail f over the nose of the horse, when it is snapped into a suitable holdt'ast or snap, t, on a strap,j, on the headstall. The preferred form of this snap is shown in Fig. 4. It is securedboth to the strap j and cross-strap k by preference, and is elongated to permit the IOO inflexible, as shown. The strap j might be dispensed with and the snap secured only to the cross-strap k; but this would tend to draw the latter strap down on the nose.

To take up the slack of the reins and hold them to one side out of the way when the harness is suspended, I prefer to provide the collar a with a spring clasp or pinch, 7, arranged to nip and hold the rein, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. Thus it will he seen that in hitching I economize the time necessary to connect the four reins to the bits, as at least the same amount of time is consumed in arranging the bit by the old method as in 1nine-that is to say, in the old method the bit is connected to the headstall by two snaps at the sides, and after the bit is inserted in the horses month one of these snaps must be made fast. If both of the snaps have been made fast with the bit out of the mouth, then it is necessary to also detach one of the snaps before the bit can be placed in the horses month.

In order that the clasps It may be drawn up out of the way at the same time as the frame which supports the harness proper, they can be connected to the same counter-balance; or the bits might be hung on the hooks c or onto the collars. The bits may be of any kind, stiff or hinged, straight or curved, and the bail may be linked to the bit.

The strapj may be attached above to a crossstrap in front of the horses ears. I. prefer, however, the arrangement shown.

My improvements may be applied to single as well as double harness.

Having thus described try invention, I wish it understood that I do not limit myself to the employment of my improvements in connection with harness ofthe general character described, as it may be adapted to other kinds as well.

What I claim is- 1. Ina harness, the bit provided with a bail adapted to engage in a snap or holdfast on the headstall, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. The combination, with the harness proper, adapted to be suspended as shown, of the reins d, the bit 6, provided with a bail,f, and attached to the reins, and the headstall provided with a snap, i, all arranged substantially as setforth, and for the purposes specified.

3. The combination, with the bit provided with a rigid bail, ot' the headstall provided with an elongated snap, 1', to engage the bail, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

4. The hinged collarmprovided with aspringclasp, Z, to hold the rein, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

5. Theimprovenient in the artof ready hitching, which consists in attaching the bits permanently to the rcins,and providing the horse with ahcadstall withoutabit,wherebyin hitching it is only necessary to put the bit in the mouth and attach it to the headstall, substantially as set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

\VILLIAM H. JOSSE LYN.

Witnesses:

HENRY (JONNETT, ARTHUR- O. FRASER. 

